


Mishaps & Hiccups

by aemcityy



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Drama, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Some are famous, alternative universe, possible angst, slow burn (?), some aren't
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-13 06:47:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16012496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aemcityy/pseuds/aemcityy
Summary: While sharing his tale of events, famous athlete Lucas accidentally hits Jungwoo's serving tray at a local restaurant, and certain media outlets decide to add to the details. To Lucas's defense, maybe Jungwoo could've moved? Yeah, no.





	1. One

After a short phone call, Lucas, Mark, and Johnny found themselves sitting in Sun&Moon — a local restaurant within the city — on a Tuesday night. It was difficult for their schedules to sync up in terms of vacation, but that was expected. With Mark’s music career, Johnny’s DJ-ing slash radio gigs, and Lucas’s athletics, the three were always in and out with little time to sit around and relax.

In comparison to Johnny and Mark, though, Lucas seemed to have slightly more down time — emphasis on slightly. Recently, Mark has been on tour, with his last few stops being closer to home. When he wasn’t touring, he was taking part in interviews, producing, or working on track features. Mark admits that his fast-paced lifestyle can be exhausting, but according to him, the “hustle life” is rewarding. Johnny, on the other hand, works on a night radio show with a few DJ-ing gigs here and there. Most of the time, he lived in the nightlife unless a gig was set for an afternoon. If the radio star wasn’t working on anything in the early hours, it was typically his time to recharge before the next evening event.

As for Lucas, his schedule fluctuated easily depending on training, races, and the intensity of the season overall.

Luckily, the night allowed them to catch up as a group after two months.

“Right now, I have more lined up for the radio show than DJ-ing. Since summer is dying down, weekday gigs seem harder to come across,” Johnny shared. “But, I have, uh, three or four more events in the next three weeks.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Mark answered, swirling the ice in his cup before turning to Lucas. “What about you, bro? If everything works out, it seems like we can meet up again sooner than we thought.”

“Enjoy this face while you can,” Lucas sighed, wiping an invisible tear from his eye. His response was cut short as the waitress approached their table. After a quick introduction and taking their beverage orders, she was off again, allowing him to continue.

“Like Johnny said, summer’s dying down and all, so you guys know how it is,” he shrugged and took a sip from his water. “It seems like there’s some more competition this year, so I can’t wait until mid-October to seriously prepare for indoor.”

“Great, I’m not going to see you until the new year at that rate,” Mark groaned, causing the older two to laugh. “I’m not joking! Once September hits, we’ll never hear from Lucas again!”

Johnny shook his head, clearly amused, while Lucas swatted his friend’s arm and rolled his eyes.

The greatest part about his friend group, Lucas thought, is that it’s never awkward when the three of them get together. Regardless of the time spent apart, nothing negatively shifts in their dynamics. It was easy for all of them to get lost in conversation, which often leads to some sort of trouble.

* * *

 Jungwoo watched with one eyebrow arched as Doyoung, a close friend and coworker, tied a black apron around his waist. Numerous thoughts went through his mind, causing him to simply stand and stare at his friend.

“What?” Doyoung questioned, reaching to grab a pen and notepad from the front pouch of the apron.

“Isn’t —“

“—Ten supposed to be working tonight? Yes, but he has the showcase in a few weeks, remember? He asked me to take over two weeks ago.”

“Really? I didn’t know he had to take a night off,” Jungwoo mused. Doyoung chuckled at his reaction and exited the room to begin his shift. The younger boy stood in the back for a little before snapping back to reality. Like Doyoung, he grabbed his pen, notepad, and returned to work.

If you asked Jungwoo, working at Sun&Moon wasn’t the worst experience. The pay was decent, and the tips he got from customers came in handy for smaller bills he and his roommate split (Doyoung swore Jungwoo got higher tips because of his good looks. Jungwoo neither confirms nor denies this). Of course he has experienced his fair share of angry patrons, flirty drunks, and low tippers, but it was nothing to call home about. Doyoung and Ten, another close friend from work, had more exciting stories to tell about their shifts.

“Jungwoo!” a voice called out, easily catching his attention.

“Ah, yes?”

“Can you bring these drinks to table twenty-seven for me, please? Today’s pretty busy for a Tuesday, and I have to drop these off on the other side of the restaurant. I’m assuming the crowd is because of the celebrity trio here tonight,” his coworker explained. “People are recording them everywhere.”

Jungwoo smiled, grabbing a serving tray, “No problem! I’ll just drop them off on the way to my tables. It’s easier for me anyway.”

“You’re an angel,” the coworker returned his smile and picked up her share of drinks before scurrying off. Jungwoo placed his orders onto the tray and began to walk towards his destination.

As he made his way around the restaurant, he noticed the details his coworker shared with him. There were a number of customers focused on one table in particular. It wasn’t necessary for him to look at the numbered tabletop displayettes to know where his final drinks drop-off were going. Jungwoo couldn’t help but think of how excited Ten would’ve been; it’s not everyday Sun&Moon have stars dining, and Ten is always up-to-date on who’s who (even rising or less well-known stars).

As he approached the table, Jungwoo put on a professional smile with ease, opening his mouth slightly to announce the arrival of the group’s drinks. Yet, he found himself with some Sprite on his lips and the remaining drinks pooling around his feet.

_Well, this is great._

* * *

Although the group tends to get into trouble, Lucas doesn’t _expect_ it when the three of them go out. At this point, though, it seems like a rookie mistake on all their parts. For instance, the trip thought going out for drinks was an excellent way to catch up. That is, until Mark decided to turn the bar into his personal karaoke room (to this day, people are still sharing the videos). For Johnny, Lucas remembers a friendly game of basketball becoming an emergency room visit (don’t ask how). There are other incidents, but Johnny, Mark, and Lucas viewed every single one as a small hiccups.

So, when he felt the back of his hand hit something, followed by an “Oh shit” from Mark, Lucas knew another small hiccup presented itself.

The sound of glass hitting the floor and liquid splashing were sharp noises in his ears. His face was already set in a mixture of a pout and a frown as he turned to apologize to the waitress.

“I, uh,” he stuttered, reaching to pick up the shards of glass instead. _That was not the waitress from earlier_ , he thought. The fact that the waiter was standing there in what he assumed was shock made the whole situation a little more embarrassing. He was probably just as startled as Lucas was.

“It’s fine! I’ll clean up the mess and get you all new drinks as soon as possible. It’s not safe to touch broken glass with your bare hands, sir.”

“Dude, your shirt is soaked,” Mark stood from the table, eyes wide, pointing at the waiter’s ruined attire. _Mark, please stop talking. Please, please, please, please,_ Lucas’s mind supplied.

Johnny stood right after, reaching into the pockets of his pants, “Do you have an extra shirt or anything? Shit, we’re really sorry, uh, Jungwoo?” he squinted to read the name tag. “Lucas can be really clumsy sometimes. I can make up for the cost of your uniform. How much was it?”

“Just give me a higher tip instead,” Jungwoo chuckled, moving to pick up the tray and shift the remaining shards of glass to one area. “I’m joking. But really, it’s fine. Things like this happen all the time.”

“People hitting the trays? Or getting drinks in your face?” Mark asked. “The spills, sir.”

“Oh.”

The longer Jungwoo stood there, the more aware he became of the wet shirt clinging to his torso and the cameras recording his every move. Using the tray as some sort of barrier between him and the cameras, he rushed to inform another employee of the spill.

After helping with the clean up, Jungwoo told the coworker from earlier about the incident. She apologized, unnecessarily he might add, before hurrying off to put in another order for the drinks while Jungwoo got changed.

Doyoung saw him as he headed to the staff bathroom with another apron, lips pulled into a smirk.

Of course he found this entertaining, Jungwoo thought, playfully rolling his eyes before entering the bathroom. He stared at the mirror and sighed. There was nothing he could do about the shirt but ring it out and hope for the best. The new apron might lessen the amount of moisture he needed to deal with for the rest of the night.

The sound of the door creaking open was clear, and he didn’t need to look up to know it was Doyoung.

“Ten always misses the good stuff on his day off,” he joked, handing Jungwoo another shirt.

The latter stared at the white material in his friend’s hand with wide eyes before smiling. “How’d you find another shirt?”

“I always carry another one in case of emergencies.”

“You’re a blessing in disguise I swear,” Jungwoo was already unbuttoning the soaked top while Doyoung grabbed a few paper towels.

“Tell that to Ten.”


	2. Two

**/the/ Sun &Moon Crew**

00:38

**Tennie:**

> What happened?

> [Image attached]

 

**Doyoungie:**

> News spreads fast, huh?

 

**Tennie:**

>Why did he attack Woo?

 

**Doyoungie:**

> Wait what

 

_Wait what (2) < _

**Tennie:**

> [Image attached]

> ?

> Read the headline

 

**Doyoungie:**

> “Server attacked by track star Lucas Wong”

> First of all, this server has a NAME

 

_He never attacked me?? It was an accident < _

**Doyoungie:**

> Did you read the article?

> According to them, you were attacked

 

**Tennie:**

> [Image attached]

> [Image attached]

> These are all different. Some are saying you were attacked, and others are saying you made Lucas mad

 

**Doyoungie:**

> Thank you, TenMZ

> But seriously, all of those articles are just gossip

_Agreed. I’m fine and everything was just a misunderstanding < _

_Doyoung wouldn’t just let someone attack me either < _

 

**Tennie:**

> That was corny, you overgrown bunny

> I wasn’t updated on what happened during today’s shift, so

> Imagine how shocked I was to see articles about the restaurant

 

**Doyoungie:**

> Oh poor baby

> But, you of all people should know how some of these sites blow things out of proportion

 

_Clickbait. I’m really fine though, regardless of what the articles say < _

 

Jungwoo sighed, placing his phone on his desk. His roommate, Taeyong, turned to him with an eyebrow raised. His laptop casted a blue light on his face, making his stare sharper to Jungwoo.

“Won’t you damage your eyes like that?” asked Jungwoo, turning away to get changed. Now that he was settled in, all he wanted to do was curl up in bed and dream. He would rather wait until the morning to thoroughly share the night’s events with his roommate, preferably after breakfast.

“That’s what these are for,” Taeyong responded as he tapped the frame of his glasses. “The night shift on it strains my eyes more, I think. I’ll manage.”

“Aren’t you going to bed soon?” Jungwoo was already drawing the sheets on his bed back, ready to feel the warmth of cotton and the soft feeling of his pillow.

“I’m doing a final listen before tomorrow. What time is -- oh. Well, before later today, I guess. It sounds like something is missing, but maybe your vocals will complete the feel.”

“Just finalize it with Jihoon tomorrow. Rest, Tae.”

Jungwoo assumed Taeyong’s low hum was one of agreement, but didn’t see the blue light fade into the dark before his eyes gave up on him.

* * *

Personally, to Lucas, it was a crime to be woken up before nine in the morning. During his high school days, he always found it difficult to wake up, especially during the winter. Needless to say, he wasn’t his friendly, social, loud self until eleven (noon on bad days). For college, he never registered for an 8AM course, opting for nine-fifteens or afternoon and evening courses instead.

So, to see it was around seven-thirty in the morning and to hear his phone ring? Yeah. Of course he was pissed off.

“What?” was his gruff response, almost coming out as some sort of growl. Irritated, Lucas ran his fingers through his hair and placed his back against the headboard of his bed.

“I’m just as annoyed as you are man,” Johnny sighed. He wasn’t a morning person either, though better than Lucas.

“Initially, I was thinking about calling just Luca—”

“So why didn’t yo—”

“Because, Johnny, my dear bro, what kind of friend would I be if I left you without a warm cup of tea?”

“Mark, get to the fuckin—“

“Alright, alright! You guys ruin the fun.” Lucas could hear the slight tone of disappointment in Mark’s voice, but he couldn’t find the energy to worry. He just wanted to go back to bed before he became too alert.

“So, because you guys don’t like to wake up at a decent hour, I’m just going to assume you haven’t seen the articles about yesterday night.”

Lucas heard a shift from one side, most likely Johnny straightening up from wherever he slept. He himself sat up a little more; Mark was always good at getting their attention in the morning. _So much for going back to bed at this point,_ Lucas thought.

“I haven’t seen anything _too_ bad, yet. You know how some of them are. But anyway, according to what I _have_ seen, Lucas attacked an innocent server last night. Or, that server made Lucas angry enough for him to act out-of-character. Oh, and the server is apparently a gold digger? Crazy, huh?”

“A gold digger?” Johnny questioned. “Like I said, according to them. Some of the articles say that the server — what was his name again? Junwoo? Jowoon? Juwoon?”

“Jungwoo. His name is Jungwoo, Mark.”

“Yeah, Jungwoo! Thanks, Johnny. Anyway, some say that Jungwoo upset Lucas since this dumb dumb never apologized. People recorded that. A lot of comments are calling him a gold digger because they heard him ask for a tip increase in one of the videos.”

“He was joking,” Lucas muttered, sucking his teeth afterward. “Why are they starting something over an accidental situation? We’re never allowed to make mistakes.”

“People recorded, but it was cut off at weird points. Some of them are clearly edited. And, people with a full video started to release that on Twitter and all, but the damage has been done.”

The track star heard Johnny’s sigh and knew that this was going to be a serious problem, if not a problem already. For the most part, their small hiccups have never included someone outside of their friend group. When Mark turned the bar into a karaoke room, it was entertaining. When Johnny went to the emergency room, fans were concerned. The three were always able to spin things in their favor. But this?

Lucas bit his lip, worries beginning to pile high in his mind. If he wasn’t fully awake before, he definitely was now.

* * *

 Jungwoo’s morning started fairly well. He woke up to the sounds of pots and pans being moved around, a knife rapidly hitting a cutting board, and the smell of something delicious. Taeyong told him it was to make sure he had enough energy for the day, but Jungwoo knew it was a way to express thanks. Everything was somewhat last minute after all.

Along with his friend Jihoon, Taeyong is working on independent projects in order to build his presence in the music scene. There are times the two of them, when not working on assignments and such for graduate school, would have “a-ha!” moments for a new track and get straight to work. Jungwoo was dragged into the creative process after Taeyong found out he could sing. Long story short, he heard Jungwoo singing in the shower, yelled, causing the younger to slip, and the rest is history.

“How ya feeling?” asked Taeyong as the two entered the elevator of Jihoon’s apartment complex.

“I’m excited, a little nervous too. Jihoon has never heard me sing. What if he doesn’t think I fit the song well enough?” Jungwoo spun strands of his hair in between his fingers. It was a somewhat of a nervous habit for him.

His roommate patted his shoulder in a comforting manner, “Jihoon isn’t too bad. Plus, you’re a really, really good singer, Woo. Just act like you’re in the shower.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll end up slipping again.”

“I apologized!”

Jihoon’s apartment was somewhat small, but the size worked well enough for him to have a makeshift studio and equipment scattered around. As Taeyong said, Jihoon was not too bad. Jungwoo found his words sharp, but realized it was passion and drive responsible for his tone. In short, Jihoon was serious about music in the same way Taeyong was. The two simply expressed their love for it differently.

“Jungwoo, your phone has been vibrating non-stop for a while now,” Taeyong pointed at the device during a short break. It was two in the afternoon, around three hours since their session begun.

“It’s probably just Ten and Doyoung. Something happened during my shift yesterday, and now I’m all over the internet,” Jungwoo shrugged his shoulders, not moving to check his phone. He told the two that he would be busy today, so if it was an emergency, he knew they would call instead.

“I heard about that,” Jihoon swerved around on his chair, one headphone uncovering his ear. “Soonyoung sent it to me because he thought you looked familiar. It seems like people are just exaggerating to me. A quick way to make a quick buck.”

“Thank you!” Jungwoo threw his hands in the air, glad to know someone else outside of his close friends felt the same way.

“I mean, I haven’t known you as long as Taeyong has, but you don’t seem like a gold digger to me.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m just as lost, if not more than you, Woo. What are you guys talking about?” Taeyong looked from Jungwoo to Jihoon, confusion etched on his face.

“Who’s calling me a gold digger?”

“You didn’t know?” Jihoon pulled out his phone, did a quick search, and showed the screen to Taeyong and Jungwoo. “There’s worse names in the comments, but the more popular one is gold digger. People coming to Wong’s defense think that bashing the other person involved is the way to go. Don’t scroll through. Constantly reading those can take a serious toll if you’re not careful.”

Jungwoo grabbed his phone and scrolled through his notifications. As expected, it was Ten and Doyoung, but the amount of images being sent was unsettling to him. He viewed himself as hard-working, caring, and determined. To have people calling him a gold digger, of all things, over some small incident? It was more irritating than anything.

“Well, at least your name isn’t in these? Don’t worry about it too much, man.” Taeyong locked the phone, leaving Jungwoo to stare at a black screen. “Things these days are short-lived. One minute you’re the center of attention, the next someone else steals the spotlight.”

“Agreed,” Jihoon nodded, moving his phone out of Jungwoo’s sight. “Let’s get back to work. This break was longer than planned.”

“I really hope so...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the positive responses to the first chapter! I'm doing my best to update consistently, but I doubt I'm going to update every two days. Most likely every week or two. If you're confused or have any questions, leave a comment. I'll answer everything (as long as it doesn't spoil anything) in the chapter notes.


	3. Three

“Is this really the best solution?” 

Lucas sat in his car, fingers tapping against the steering wheel with uncertainty laced in his words. Yes, he was extremely nervous. After Mark updated him and Johnny, Lucas turned to his friends for advice. Mark suggested that he go to the restaurant to have a conversation with Jungwoo personally, but Johnny made a valid argument – what happens if he isn’t there?

“Think about it, guys. We went to Sun&Moon yesterday around, what, seven-ish?  There’s a very slim chance he’ll be doing an afternoon shift the next day.” 

Afterwards, Johnny suggested that Lucas release some sort of statement through social media to clear up the issue. But, Mark made another valid argument.

“Look, I’m not saying that this isn’t a solid idea. But, think about it from Jungwoo’s perspective for a sec. Wouldn’t you want to have the opportunity to defend your own name? People are giving him all sorts of titles without even knowing his name. Speaking for him is like, I don’t know, silencing him. It could lead to more misunderstanding this way too. You both did nothing wrong, so why silence him?”

“Wow, Mark. Your one brain cell is really working hard today,” Johnny teased, causing Lucas to chuckle slightly.

“Shut up, Johnny Appleseed.”

Ultimately, the three of them decided on a mixture of the two ideas. Lucas would go to the restaurant, ask for Jungwoo, and take down his contact information if he wasn’t there. The conversation would be more about clearing up the incident and, most importantly, the remarks about Jungwoo. Lucas could handle himself afterwards. It was basic, but it would have to do for now. The longer he waited, the worse things could get. But, yes, he was nervous. Even with Johnny there as a personal support system (Mark wanted to, but he had a recording scheduled), he was nervous.

“One, stop tapping against the steering wheel. Two, yes. We spoke about it on the phone for way too long. It’s already four in the afternoon, man. Up and at ‘em.”

Lucas’s hold on the steering wheel only tightened as he heard the sound of his car door open and close. Johnny made his way to the driver’s side and tapped his knuckles against the window until Lucas exited the vehicle. It took five minutes for his nerves to relax – Johnny groaned and swore it took  _ forever _ – before he got out the car and quickly entered the restaurant. The two decided against shielding their faces with caps or glasses; people tend to take their pictures regardless.

The first thing that caught Lucas’s eye was that there weren’t as many people in comparison to yesterday night. Judging by the looks, though, he figured everyone was curious to know what brought him back to the local joint after yesterday’s fiasco. 

“Welcome to Sun&Moon. Table for two?”  _ Oh fuck _ , echoed in Lucas’s mind. Despite being shorter than him, the employee’s stare pierced through Lucas’s soul. His eyes were dark, and the silver hair highlighted that detail well; the piercings in his ears only added to the intimidation factor. 

“I, uh, I’m here to –” he stuttered, and the athlete swore he could’ve  _ heard _ Johnny roll his eyes before stepping in to save his sorry ass. 

“Hi,” a peak at the name tag, “Ten. Lucas wanted to know if Jungwoo was in today.” 

Ten hummed knowingly, “He isn’t in today. Would it be rude to ask why he wants to speak with Woo?” 

Johnny eyed Ten before turning to Lucas who was oddly quiet, considering the question directed to him. He had to nudge the athlete out of whatever trance he was in.

“Oh, I, um, wanted to speak to him about something that happened yesterday. I’m pretty sure you know about it by now. Do you have his contact information?” 

“Of course I do,” Ten looked between the two with an eyebrow raised and a mischievous gleam in his eyes, “The better question would be whether I feel comfortable enough to share this information with you, which I don’t, to be completely honest. But, considering the fact that Woo’s being dragged for bullshit, I’ll improvise.” 

As Ten pulled his phone out from the back pocket of his pants, Johnny and Lucas glanced at each other. The two were somewhat lost, but assumed Ten was making a phone call once he pressed the device to his ear. 

“Hey, Woo. What? Yeah, I’m fine. Doyoung? I mean, he’s with Jaehyun today, so I’m guessing he’s great. Oh my God, Jungwoo, listen!”

It wasn’t too long before Ten was passing Lucas the phone, telling him to give it to a nearby employee when he was done before walking off. The latter stared at the contact name, – WooWoo and a lightning bolt emoji – and the “hello” that escaped his lips sounded weak in his ears. 

“Hi,” Jungwoo’s soft voice trailed off, hesitation clear in the pause. “Mr. Wong?” 

“Oh God no. You can just call me Lucas. Mr. Wong makes me feel older than I am.”

“Okay, Lucas. Ten said you wanted to talk to me.”

“Yeah. I’m really sorry about the whole mess that came from yesterday. There’s been a lot of people unfairly judging you based on false information, and I’m trying to figure out how to handle it,” Lucas raked his fingers through his hair, and Johnny made a signal to take a deep breath.

“Well, it’s not your fault. There’s no need to apologize, honestly. What did you have in mind though?” 

While glancing at Ten, who was clearly busy working, Lucas answered, “I think your friend wants his phone back. But, is it okay if I get your contact information? Working together on this is probably a good way to go. My friend made a good point about letting you defend yourself. Me doing some press release or whatever doesn’t give you that chance.” 

“Smart friend. Was that from one of the guys from yesterday?”

“He was actually the dumb one that asked if people hit your trays often,” Lucas joked. 

The call ended after Jungwoo gave Lucas his number, not to mention that Lucas rushed to grab a pen from someone and scribbled the number into Johnny’s palm. The walk to the car was oddly quiet for the two of them, but Johnny started up once Lucas placed the keys into the ignition. 

“Ten is interesting,” he hummed. “How did the call go? I don’t think you called just to talk shit about Mark.” 

“I didn’t talk shit,” Lucas rolled his eyes, stopping the car at a red light. He turned his head to look at Johnny, a smug look on his face. “And why are you interested in Ten? If anything, he seems threatening.”

“I said he’s interesting, not that I’m interested. You’re worse than the paparazzi. And threatening? Your face alone makes people pass out.”

“It’s because I’m handsome, and the paparazzi take photos, Johnny boy. Are you mixing words up because you’ve been caught?”

“Caught doing what?” Johnny scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest. “Answer the damn question.”

* * *

 

**Alphabetical Legends**

19:24

_ GUYS < _

**M:**

> what 

 

**J:**

> What 

 

**K:**

> Please don’t type in all caps 

_ do i txt him now?? < _

**M:**

> you haven’t texted him yet? wimp ://

 

**J:**

> Have Kun spell check your messages before you send them.

> You missed the e in text 

 

**K:**

> Agreed

_ wow :’) < _

_ it’s not my fault i take advantage of slang < _

**K:**

> And text who?

  
  


**M:**

> jungwoo that’s who

 

**K:**

> ?   
> This is why I like Sicheng more than you guys ;; 

> He always keeps me in the loop 

> Yukhei, I’m calling 

 

**M:**

> Srry mom 

 

Lucas didn’t have time to react to Kun’s use of his real name before his phone started buzzing. 

“Yukhei.” 

“Oh, c’mon, bro. Please stop using Yukhei. It puts me on edge when  _ you _ say it. It’s like I’m about to get in trouble with mom. At least use Xuxi. It’s a lot nicer, not as harsh” he whined, tossing himself on his bed. “Look, I’ll explain.”

“You say it as if you had a choice.”

“Soft, yet deadly. A perfect description for your Tinder profile, honestly.” 

From there, the conversation spiraled. Lucas, as he said he would, explained the entire situation to Kun, including his current dilemma – whether it was an appropriate time to text Jungwoo. He expected Kun to be upset with him, but his mom-friend calmy talked him through the problems (as usual). Lucas appreciated the bond he, Johnny, and Mark had, but Kun was a balance in their life. The trio got into a lot of things (emphasis on a lot), but without Kun, their lifestyles definitely would’ve been a lot more reckless. He always knew what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. 

“You know why you’re so nervous?” Lucas replayed his friend’s words as his finger hovered above the “send” button. It was nearing eight at night. “Think about it, Xuxi. Every dumb thing you have gotten into was with people you know and feel comfortable with. Johnny, Mark, Sicheng, Renjunnie and Lele. Donghyuck. Even me. You never felt responsible for how something would affect us. We all have some sort of following, one way or another. Now, think about Jungwoo. He doesn’t have the same platform – if you want to put it that way – that we all do. He’s a complete stranger who was dragged into this mess by the press, but it’s also linked to you. The comments come more to your defense than his. Plus, a gold-digger? That’s something. You’re nervous because this all has the potential of ruining an innocent stranger’s future, in some type of way. Just text him and do what you have to do to avoid that from happening. If you don’t, you’re just as bad as the ones who started this whole mess.” 

With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tapped send.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not as satisfied with this chapter as I hoped to be, but it still progresses the story. I hope it's not too slow, but everything is for a reason :)) 
> 
> Thank you all for the comments and kudos up to this point. It means a lot and encourages me to update quicker than I think possible. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!


	4. Four

“What the hell?” Taeyong muttered, drying his hair and watching Jungwoo grin at his phone screen. The older could have sworn his roommate would be getting some sleep as soon as the duo entered their flat. Jungwoo barely kept his eyes open during the car ride, and Taeyong was afraid his friend would hurt his neck from the vehicle jerking. From Taeyong’s perspective, it seemed to be a mentally draining day for his roommate. The recording went better than Jungwoo expected, and he felt accomplished when Taeyong and Jihoon played back the track. But, there were a lot of text messages and calls from Ten, Doyoung, _the_ Lucas Wong, and even Taeil — a co-volunteer slash friend from the preschool. Plus, Jungwoo mentioned the eight a.m. course he had the next day, on top of another night shift at Sun&Moon.

Taeyong wondered how Jungwoo managed to smile at least once a day, regardless of the shitty, stressful situations he would end up in.

“Jungwoo.” No response.

“Jungwoo~” Taeyong dragged out his name this time and spoke a little louder, but still did not get a response from his roommate. He glanced at Jungwoo for a second and turned his attention to a pillow nearby.

“Jungwoo!” Taeyong shouted, chucking the pillow at his target. It hit Jungwoo square in his face as he looked up from his phone and led to him pouting.

“Don’t look at me like that. I called your name twice, but you were too busy smiling at your phone,” he walked over to sit next to Jungwoo, “Who are you texting? I thought you’d be knocked out by the time I finished washing up.”

“I was going to go to bed,” Jungwoo answered with a slight shrug. “But, I got a text from an unknown num— Why are you giving me that look? I technically had an idea of who it was. I don’t give my number to just anyone. I’m very exclusive.”

Taeyong rolled his eyes and lightheartedly shoved his friend’s shoulder with his own.

“So, who’s the mystery man or woman that texted you, Mr. Exclusive?”

“Lucas. He’s pretty funny.”

“You say it as if he wasn’t allowed to be.”

“I just didn’t expect it, I guess,” Jungwoo fell back on his bed and Taeyong followed. The two stared at the ceiling in a comfortable silence before the latter shifted.

“Did you guys discuss how to handle that?” Taeyong’s voice sounded somewhat soft to Jungwoo’s ears. Maybe it was low not to disrupt the silence between the, with such a topic.

“Too drained to talk about that with him now,” Jungwoo turned to face his friend. “We agreed to talk about it tomorrow after classes. Lucas didn’t seem to want to put it off, but it is what it is. I can’t tire myself out more with that whole thing. Being famous is exhausting.”

“You’re not even a celebrity,” Taeyong chuckled lightly. “He probably feels responsible though.” He sighed and used his forearm to cover his eyes. “Well, whatever. Get some rest, Woo. Tomorrow is for tomorrow.”

“Are we sleeping together?”

“Wha—Why are you so damn flirtatious? Turn away. Don’t look at me, brat. I’m never sitting on your bed again.”

It was nice to hear Jungwoo’s soft laugh fill the room; regardless of Jungwoo’s efforts to smile, Taeyong thought it’s been too long since he last laughed.

* * *

 

Jungwoo’s morning classes came and went, and he found himself sitting in the library with his phone in sight. Perhaps he was waiting for Lucas to text. The two didn’t necessarily set a time, but Jungwoo did say he would be free to text or talk in the afternoon. Up until this point, the usual suspects were messaging him. Ten was critiquing Doyoung’s fashion in a recent post from an “outing” — Doyoung’s words — with Jaehyun; Jihoon sent him a portion of the track with a thumbs up; Taeyong was wondering if he planned on eating out for dinner tonight.

He stared at the device before huffing and flipping it onto its screen. But, shortly after it vibrated with a call from Lucas, Jungwoo exited the library and pressed the phone against his ear. The call between him and Lucas was somewhat short, but productive. The two agreed to release separate statements regarding the whole issue, similar to what Johnny initially suggested.

“How should we start these off? They are personal statements though…” Jungwoo asked as he leaned against the railings of the library’s entrance steps.

Lucas hummed, “I think memes are appropriate. There’s a few that start off with hi, my name is. We can put a link.”

“You’re really something else, huh? The duality. What a legend.”

“You get me!”

Lucas had Jungwoo send his statement to him to send to Kun — according to the track star, Kun is trustworthy and “just awesome” — for proofreading. To Jungwoo, each statement was simple, but enough to be effective. They figured that with two clarifications, there would be no need for the media to continue to spread lies. After having it proofread, Jungwoo posted, felt his body relax slightly, and continued with his day. With about two or three hours remaining between his last class and his work shift, Jungwoo decided to use his time wisely.

His first year of graduate school was, to put a word to the feeling, something. Since it’s only been a few weeks — around three if he’s keeping track correctly — Jungwoo’s feelings about school were neutral. There weren’t horrible courses or professors, but one class relating to the teacher’s assistant program could be time consuming. Jungwoo definitely wanted to work with kids, hence his volunteering at a preschool to Taeil, but the process to get to that point could prove challenging, especially with his schedule. Becoming a TA already wasn't easy; he doesn't know how things will go afterwards.

After checking the time, he made his way to Sun&Moon to start his shift. The relaxation Jungwoo felt before disappeared immediately as he approached the restaurant and was bombarded with a mixture of flashing lights and shouting. From there, everything happened within a few minutes.

A common question Jungwoo heard as he tried to snake his way through the crowd was whether he and Lucas were close. Another question seemed laced with malice, questioning why he had the “nerve to attack someone like Lucas” , even though the two shared the truth with the public earlier in the day. Doyoung spotted him, grabbed his wrist, and led him into the restaurant where seated customers couldn’t help but stare. Jungwoo was sure he heard Ten’s voice along the way, but it sounded too cold and harsh to be him; he’s never heard Ten truly shout at a person, whether it be a friend, family member, or stranger.

“I’ll be right back,” said Doyoung softly, giving Jungwoo’s hand a soft, reassuring squeeze before letting go. “Seulgi, can you stay with Woo? I swear Ten is going to bite someone’s head off out there.”

Jungwoo watched as Doyoung blended into the crowd outside and turned to face his coworker before running his fingers through his hair.

“You alright? Ah, stop that,” she swatted his hand. “You’re going to pull your hair out, Jungwoo.”

“I’m so upset. I—How could they do that? There were no personal boundaries. None. Coming to my job? Disrupting the restaurant and the other employees during business hours?” he asked incredulously. “The managers could _fire_ me for this. They _will_. I was lucky enough to—I, fuck.” A deep, shaky breath escaped Jungwoo’s lips.

One thing Jungwoo absolutely hated is his tendency to cry when extremely upset or stressed. When his words failed him, his tears didn’t. Feeling them roll down his face only irritated him further. The salty taste dancing on lips disgusted him, and he curled his fingers into a fist. Seulgi stayed quiet, opting instead to wipe his tears and rub his back soothingly.

“Yeah, right,” Jungwoo heard Ten’s scoff as he, Doyoung, and a few other coworkers entered the restaurant. The noise outside died down significantly, but Ten’s energy was far from gone. “So, you’re telling me to let them continue harassing someone? Fuck off. I should’ve cursed all of them out.”

“Ten, you need to calm down. Everyone is just as upset as you are. Please,” Doyoung rubbed his temples, practically pleading. Jungwoo glanced at him. “We’re still on shift. It’s a Thursday, man.”

“Who’s the manager on duty today? I need to take my break now.” Ten locked eyes with Jungwoo for what felt like an eternity before storming off to the manager, then the back room. Another sigh escaped Doyoung.

“Woo, you okay? Oh God, Seulgi, what did you do?” As an attempt to lighten the atmosphere, Doyoung teased.

“Hey!”

“Is...someone going to check in on Ten?”

“I asked if you were alright, and yet, you ask about Ten. One of the managers is probably going to, I think. Such a temper,” a tsk followed. “Seriously, though. Do you need to take the rest of the night off? Maybe I can ca—”

“‘s fine. My secret’s out. Everyone knows how much I love money.”

Seulgi and Doyoung frowned disapprovingly at the comment, but didn’t say anything. Jungwoo sniffed, wiped the remnants of his tears, and got up from where he was seated.

“Don’t worry! I’m not sad or anything. You guys know how I get. Let’s just get this shift over with. Can you guys believe I have classes _again_ tomorrow?” He had to admit, the laugh following sounded forced to his own ears too.

“You know it’s okay not to be okay, right?” Seulgi asked softly. Jungwoo felt Doyoung’s gaze on him as well.

“Of course.”

* * *

 

“Interesting…”

Kun scrolled through articles on his phone, lips pursed and eyebrows raised. Chenle tried to read the text on the screen over Kun’s shoulder, but the older locked the phone and turned to speak with him.

“Why can’t you ever stay still, Lele?”

“That’s a boring lifestyle,” he responded, sticking his tongue out. Chenle placed his hands on the back of the sofa and swung himself over, narrowly missing Kun’s head. “It’s good for your health to be active anyway. What’s so interesting? I want to know too.”

“Good for your health? You threaten mine whenever you move a muscle.” Chenle smiled brightly, and the laugh that followed was piercing. “Have you spoken to Xuxi? I haven’t heard from him in two days, and the articles popping up don’t ease my nerves one bit.”

“Hm…I texted him yesterday, but he didn’t respond,” the younger pouted. “Did you try calling? Maybe it has to do with his upcoming season.”

“I did. Mark, Johnny, Renjunnie, and everyone else hasn’t heard from him in a while. Johnny said he tried calling, but it went straight to voicemail every time,” Kun rapped his knuckles against his phone’s screen. A silence passed between the two before Chenle popped up and clapped.

“Ah! How do we forget this every time? His phone’s probably dead. A dead phone and track equals an unreachable Yukhei.”

“Oh, what a surprise,” said Kun dryly. “Then that means he probably hasn’t seen…I need to talk to him.”

“Then go talk to him. Adults make everything so complicated. You know where he lives, and he has fitness equipment in his house. He should be home,” Chenle made his way to the door and sat to force his feet into tied sneakers. Kun turned, resting his chin on his forearm.

“Where are you going? You’re going to ruin the back of your sneakers like that, Chenle.”

“We’re going to his house.”

“I can’t believe a toddler is telling me what we’re doing.”

“I’m not a toddler, thank you very much. And look, you got off the sofa. That means we’re going.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kun walked over and ruffled Chenle’s hair before sliding his feet into a pair of shoes as well. “I hope he’s home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but I hope you all like it!
> 
> Friendly PSA: Stream Regular, support the comeback, and listen to the album! <3


End file.
